Daydreaming
by Inferno56678
Summary: "All I've ever wanted to be was a Huntsman. It's my Dream. Is that so much to ask?" After his family refused to let him enter Signal, Jaune searched for another way. Even if it broke him, he would become a Huntsman.
1. Prologue

Prologue: Breaking Stone and The Beginning of a Dream

 _Perhaps the day may come when we shall remember these sufferings with joy._

-Virgil

 _I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?_

-Zhuangzi

The forest was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the leaves rustling blown by a gentle breeze. A loud cry suddenly broke the silence followed by a soft thump.

A shock reverberated through his arm, his knuckles bled.

A boy no older than 13 stood in a clearing facing a spire of stone approximately ten meters high.

With another cry the boy's fist connected with the pillar of stone, another soft thump echoed through the clearing.

This stupid hunk of rock was the only thing standing between him and becoming a Huntsman.

His arms hurt though. He had been at this for the past ten hours yet as to be expected, he had been unable to make the slightest dent in the stone.

This wasn't possible. There was no way he could break this rock with his fists.

Had Zhu Que lied to him? Perhaps the old man didn't want an apprentice, and this was his way of shrugging Jaune off. Just like his family had shrugged him off.

" _It's just a phase you'll grow out of it."_

" _You just don't have the right temperament."_

" _NO! That's my final answer Jaune!"_

Jaune let out another shout furiously pounding the rock focusing on the burning in his hands instead of the burning in his eyes.

This was his only shot at becoming a Huntsman, unless he broke this rock in three days any chance of his dream coming true would die.

With renewed vigor he battered the stone again with his fists. Still, the stone remained completely whole unaffected by his raging emotions.

Jaune attempted to raise his arms again only to find that they wouldn't respond. Taking ragged breaths, Jaune glared at the stone.

Was this why he would fail?

Tears gathered in his eyes and he grit his teeth. He wouldn't cry. Whatever he did he wouldn't cry, he hadn't failed yet. Furiously he wiped his eyes.

Even if this task was impossible, giving up wasn't an option.

Morning light filtered through the trees landing on the unmoving body of a blonde-haired boy and a great rock. Slowly the boy stirred until his eyes snapped open.

His hands hurt. His whole body hurt, to be honest. Still, as much as he wanted to curl in on himself, he knew he had to move.

Doing his best to avoid any pressure on his hands he pushed his back against the rock and used it to support himself as he shakily rose to his feet. The rock stood as it did yesterday with nothing to show for the effort he had expended.

Winding up his fist he struck the rock. He could be thankful at least for his Father showing him how to throw a punch. Not that it would matter. Mere muscle wouldn't overcome solid rock. Pacing around the spire, he examined it.

Maybe there was a weakness located somewhere on the expanse of earth. Maybe there was a trick to it. Something he was missing.

Something caught his attention, it wasn't obvious at first glance, but something seemed… off about the part of the rock he was staring at. Reaching out he brushed his hand against the rock. Something was definitely off.

Taking a deep breath, he struck. Only to recoil in pain, the pain in his hands had changed from a dull constant throbbing to a sharp spike when he hit the rock. The pit he had tried to ignore opened up in his stomach as tears of what he had convinced himself was pain streamed down his cheeks.

He couldn't do this. He shouldn't have even tried. He should just go back home.

Jaune attempted to turn around except his feet wouldn't move. Instead, they shifted so that his left foot was leading, and his right foot slid back. His hands raised, and he struck.

Why?

He struck again.

Hadn't the world shown him he should give up?

Another thump.

But this was his dream. If he gave up now, it would all be over. His family would have been right.

Glaring at the spire, he let a shout filled with emotion; equal parts fear, pain, and something he couldn't describe. With all his might he slammed his fist against the rock.

Something cracked and shifted against his hand. Pulling his hand back a piece of stone a little bit larger than a pebble fell from its former place in the rock.

He should have been more disappointed, but he wasn't. This was the proof. No matter how small he had broken a piece of the rock.

As the sun slowly set once again the sound of fist hitting stone with the occasional crack filled the clearing.

Jaune no longer knew what time it was. Somewhere between the punches time had started to lose meaning. All that mattered was he kept going. Something told him if he stopped he wouldn't be able to start again.

His arms had stopped hurting somewhere along the way. In fact, he no longer felt pain. All he knew was he needed to keep striking forward.

Still, even in this state, he knew he hadn't made enough progress.

He needed to be stronger.

Something shifted, and he felt… lighter, his hands no longer screamed in protest, he felt **strong**.

Fist plowed into rock chipping it.

It wasn't enough.

As if summoned by his very thoughts white light flared on his right fist, and something told Jaune that he needed to put everything into this one strike.

Fist met stone and his world froze before a thunderous explosion blew him back. His body tumbled like a leaf across the ground till his body collided with the trunk of a tree.

Slowly Jaune's vision swam into focus. The spire of stone was still standing. Stone fragments littered the clearing, but the majority of the structure was still intact.

He had failed.

A shaky laugh escaped his chest, and he mumbled, "Just my luck…"

Black slowly descended on his vision.

Opening his eyes, Jaune was blinded by the light coming in through the window. Groaning he lifted his arm in an attempt to block out the light. He was comfortable whatever he was laying on was soft and warm making sleep sound like a good option.

"Oh, you're finally awake?" a rich voice spoke somewhere to his left. At the sound of the voice, Jaune shot up to see a man seated comfortably in a rocking chair a book clasped loosely in his hands. The man looked to be of middle age with vibrant green eyes and dark red hair streaked with silver tied back in a ponytail. His face was set in an impassive expression with nothing to betray what the man was thinking.

Zhu Que. One of the only six other Hunter's in Jaune's village and one of the most respected Hunters in the area.

"Mr. Que... I… I'm sorry, I failed. I couldn't break the rock." Jaune grimaced, ignoring the stinging in his eyes, and the small trails of wetness coming down his cheeks.

"Indeed," Que nodded solemnly, "You did fail."

Jaune winced, "So I guess this it, I'll- "

"Would you like some breakfast? Though I suppose given the time, it's probably closer to lunch." Que interrupted Jaune casually lifting a covered bowl up off the floor.

"Um… I…" Jaune's stomach rumbled, and with a sigh, Jaune nodded. Que handed the bowl over and as Jaune lifted the cover of the bowl off the smell of what could only be described as rich broth pervaded the air.

"Well go on," Que gestured at Jaune with a casual wave of his hand.

It was quite in the room as Jaune ate his meal Que flipped through his book while. Eventually, though the clinking of Jaune's spoon stopped and Que looked up to see Jaune staring with distant eyes into the bowl.

"Done?" Que asked.

Jaune nodded.

"Good, let's get down to it then, Lesson One, Failure."

Jaune blinked and a dumb, "Wha- " escaped his mouth.

"You came to me for training correct? Well, this your first lesson Failure, your first and most important lesson."

"But… But you said…"

"I said that if you failed I could not teach you and you did indeed fail to break the rock," Que paused and looked Jaune directly in the eye as his lips broke into a wolfish grin, "Which means you succeeded."

"What do you mean I succeeded? The rock's still there!"

The grin on Que's face grew larger into a full smile, "Exactly, the test wasn't to see if you could break the rock, it was to see if the rock could break you. I needed to know what you had inside, if you had given up you would have never made it as my apprentice. What do you think it means to be a Hunter?"

"…"

When he was a child the stories told to him had powerful hunters facing insurmountable odds but always pushing through. He had grown up dreaming of becoming a Huntsman, dreaming of following in his family's footsteps. The application to Signal was due, and despite his parents' constant attempts to deter him, he had persisted.

" _Being a Hunter is a fool's dream Jaune, the only thing that life does is chew people up and spit them back out."_

" _But in the stories- "_

" _Those are just stories Jaune, there's no great victory, there's no celebration, only an empty grave."_

" _But-"_

" _I've been very lucky to have survived, and even then, I've lost more friends than I wish to count if I lost you… I don't know what I would do."_

" _But-"_

" _NO! That's my final answer Jaune!"_

 _The house was silent._

" _Jaune I- "_

 _Spinning around Jaune ran to the door throwing it open. He flew out the door, by the buildings of his village, his vision blurring. His lungs ached, and his legs hurt by the time he came to a stop. Desperately he gasped for breath as he gazed at a familiar stone cabin, trees stretching out behind it as far as the eye could see._

 _Taking a moment to regain his breath he then walked up and knocked hesitantly on the door._

" _That you Jaune?" a familiar voice called out._

" _Uh, Yeah."_

 _The door opened and out stepped Zhu Que dressed in a muted white and tan outfit. The cloth draped about his body gently shifting with the breeze._

" _What's happening Jaune? You okay?" Que said, an unsettled expression on his face._

 _It came out at all at once, "Can you train me to be a Hunter!?"_

 _Que blinked, a frown appearing on his face as he spoke again, "Your parents didn't want you to go to Signal huh?"_

" _No, I get it, it's really dangerous, and they love me but… all I've ever wanted to be was a Huntsman. It's my Dream. Is that so much to ask?"_

 _Furiously Jaune wiped his eye's gazing up at the man who had for innumerable hours told him tales of countless Hunters._

 _Que remained silent for a long moment, "Alright, I'll train you if you can pass my test. If you fail that's it, no second chances, if you succeed I'll train you to become a Huntsman."_

"I- I don't know."

"Lesson Two then, a Hunter is someone who put's their life on the line to defend the people. It's not like the stories, you can't always push through. Sometimes the odds are too great. The Grimm too many. When you become a Hunter, you will die a Hunter. There's no backing out, this is your last chance, there is no shame in wanting a normal life."

Jaune looked down at his hands to see to his surprise that they had already healed with nary a scar on them.

" _It's just a phase you'll grow out of it."_

" _You just don't have the right temperament."_

" _NO! That's my final answer Jaune!"_

In the end, Jaune Arc could have made no other choice.

"Please. I need to be a Hunter."

It was his Dream.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Cost of a Dream and Moving Forward

 _The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places._

-Ernest Hemingway

 _Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream._

-Khalil Gibran

"Again."

A loud crack echoed throughout the clearing as fist collided with stone.

"Good. Next."

Jaune slammed a kick into the stone fracturing solid rock.

"Focus on your Aura, bring it out in a single strike."

Aura flared on his right fist casting the entire clearing into sharp relief. The light flickered slightly as Jaune nearly lost control but regained its strength. What remained of the stone was obliterated in an explosion of light as his fist struck.

"Hold. Back to rest."

Que stepped forward from where he had been watching walking around Jaune examining him and then the piece of earth he had just destroyed.

"Your form is improving, I'm positive now that your semblance allows you to amplify an aspect of your aura. You still need to focus more on rooting yourself, it took you six hours to destroy that rock."

Jaune nodded at Que's words focusing on maintaining a steady breathing rate ignoring the urge to gasp for air. He would say Que was being unfair wanting him to destroy a rock roughly 4 times his size if he hadn't seen Que's demonstration obliterate a rock the same size with a single punch.

A fist came flying at his face only to be redirected with his arm. Immediately he responded with his own fist aimed at Que's gut only for his arm to be twisted into a lock by Que who had managed to slip past his fist.

Instinct that had been beaten into Jaune kicked in. Jaune rotated his arm slightly before he kicked himself into a flip over Que's head unraveling himself from the lock. Jaune landed softly on the ground centering himself and locking eyes with Que. Cold green bored through him.

"Fight as if your life depended on it because someday it will." Que's utterance signaled the start of the spar if it could be called that. Every punch Jaune threw was redirected or flat out blocked. Every kick was dodged or forced him into another lock.

Jaune wouldn't have it any other way.

Heart thundering as adrenaline rushed through his veins a wild wolfish grin on his face.

Jaune kicked outward at Que's head letting Que lock it only to amplify the aura already flowing through his leg averting his gaze. Even then he was nearly blinded by the searing white flash, Jaune spun the leg currently free into a kick supporting himself on his arms.

Que shifted somehow able to tell the kick was coming Jaune's foot passing an inch away from his face. Jaune felt the grip on his leg tighten and with a crunch of wood he was sent straight through a tree. Dazedly Jaune blinked a couple of times till his teacher's amused face swam into focus.

"That was a solid plan Jaune. Still, you made a mistake thinking I needed my eyes to see that kick coming. A kick like that generates to much wind to go unnoticed. Next time I recommend a more direct approach instead of letting yourself get locked into an unfavorable position."

Que held out his hand which Jaune clasped, with a deceptively gentle tug Jaune was pulled up to a standing position.

"Good work today Jaune, let's head on back."

Trees soared over their heads shading them as a cool breeze blew through the trees hinting at the beginning of fall. A comfortable silence stretched between Jaune and Que as they traversed the forest.

Three months had passed since Que started training Jaune, literally from the ground up. Que retaught him how to throw a punch, and then made him throw that same punch a thousand times each day for each hand. Any time Jaune broke his stance Que unceremoniously sent him to the ground and made him do it again. After Que was satisfied with his punches, the same thing was done for kicking, making him repeat the movement a thousand times for each leg. Only then Que had begun to teach him how to consciously utilize Aura. He had already noticed that he was overall more physically adept than he had been and that minor wounds would heal instantly. Apparently hitting a rock for three days had done something for him as after he had relayed the white light appearing on his fist to Que and demonstrated it Que had told him that he had managed to unlock his Aura. An absolute essential to becoming a Hunter.

Que then set him to punching rocks, these ones thankfully smaller than the first, with intermittent sparring sessions until Jaune collapsed. This was the first day Jaune could walk without assistance from the forest.

"So Jaune, when are you going to tell your parents?"

Jaune winced, he had come home after those three days to parents who had been told by Que that he was merely staying with him for a while so that he could cool down. Things had been… tense since then, no questions had been asked of why Jaune kept heading out of the house every day when he had finished the compulsory schooling offered by the village. Jaune's father, Sable hadn't even attempted to bring up any apprenticeship opportunities. Still, Jaune knew if he brought up what he was doing with Que, the armistice would be broken.

"I don't really know, I'm not even sure what to say."

"You'll have to face it eventually Jaune, one of the things I've learned in life is that you can't run from something forever."

Jaune grimaced and nodded looking down, only for a hand to ruffle his hair.

"Don't worry too much about it, I got your back no matter what."

They had arrived at Que's house and with a gentle pat on the back Que walked inside leaving Jaune to his thoughts.

Walking through the village was something that Jaune had become accustomed to through the course of his life. He waved at the various villagers that greeted him too focused on his thoughts to do much else to reply. It was with a small sense of dread he came to the Arc family's home, a rather large two-story building that was comfortably able to fit the entire Arc family. Walking through the door and down the hallway, he arrived at the kitchen to find his Mother; June Arc and sister Olivia quietly discussing something which immediately halted when he entered.

Both Olivia and June had dark orange hair and green eyes, traits shared by most of his sisters, Jaune being the only one to inherit his Father's blonde hair and blue eyes. The room was quite for a few moments until Jaune spoke, "Hey Mom, Hey Olivia, do you guys know where Dad is?"

"He's out back," his Mom said her normally cheerful tone dulled significantly.

Jaune nodded and walked past them, opening the back door to see his Father slicing through the air with strokes too fast to see. His Father's sword paused and then was swiftly sheathed, still no words were spoken. Jaune walked forward until he was standing a couple feet from his Father.

Sable Arc was a man that usually had a perpetual grin on his face. Not laughing at the world but with it, a man who those who knew him would describe as disconcertingly cheerful, especially for the profession he chose. His expression currently though was lacking in amusement. Instead, his lips were formed into a small grimace as he looked down at Jaune.

"So, are you ready to tell me where you've been going these last three months." Sable's voice usually filled with warmth was disconcertingly quiet.

"I think you already know Dad." At his words, Sable slumped slightly before giving a small nod.

"Should have known Que would take you in," Sable muttered, and then spoke again in a louder voice, "If you passed his test then that means you won't stop this foolishness, will you?" Sable's voice broke slightly.

Jaune shook his head mutely, unable to verbally respond to his Father.

"I won't stop you Jaune, but I can't support you in this either." With that Sable Arc walked away, heavy footsteps thudding into the earth as he went into the house.

Hot wet trails made their way down Jaune's cheeks. A pang in his chest made itself known and he slowly slumped to the ground.

"You sure about this Jaune?"

A nod. He had caused them enough pain already, this was for the best.

Que sighed, "Well let's go then."

The pair shouldered their packs and without a backward glance started down the road out of the village. They would not return for many years.

* * *

Six months. Six months since he had last seen his family, since he had left his home to fulfill his dream.

They had moved east from the Jaune's village heading towards Vale. During the trip, Que had increased Jaune's training by forcing him to keep his aura active whenever he was awake. Furthermore, Que had directed more attention to his semblance having Jaune work on increasing the amplification factor of his aura while only activating it consciously.

Before Jaune had used his semblance unconsciously every time he activated his aura which while increasing his power, drained him at an insane rate and made controlling the power of his strikes all but impossible. Thankfully his aura reserves according to Que were incredibly large for his age which allowed him some leeway in using his aura inefficiently. Indeed, while using his semblance aptly named Amplify took a large amount of aura, he barely felt the drain except for extended periods of time

Any question of Jaune getting his own weapon had been halted for now as a particular experience had made both of them rather… wary.

" _Just flow your aura through the dagger."_

 _Jaune nodded and concentrated lightly gripping the hilt lightly. White light traveled along the blade glowing softly encompassing the entire blade in its light._

" _Good! Now- "_

 _CRACK_

 _A cragged line appeared on the blade before_

 _BOOM_

 _Metal shards exploded glancing off the auras of Que and Jaune._

 _Jaune was left standing with the shattered hilt of the dagger eyes wide with shock._

Attempting with another dagger had resulted in the same outcome. Even now that Jaune had gained some control over his amplification his aura still destroyed any weapon that he attempted to flow it through. Que had eventually declared that Jaune would have to rely on his body till he gained full control of his semblance.

His birthday had passed quietly, Que had given him a small cake and two sturdy steel arm guards that served as part of the next step in his training. That is now, Que would kick his ass with his weapon, a straight sword that transformed into a bladed whip.

Even now after nine total months of training Jaune had been unable to land a solid hit on his mentor. The fights while increasing in duration only grew harder as Jaune capabilities increased it seemed that Que held back a little less.

They were currently stopped at the village of Ryul, another day's travel from Vale said Que, it was rather large, certainly larger than Jaune's home. The streets bustled with activity a clamor of voices hawking their wares and discussing day to day business. Que causally maneuvered his way through the streets, Jaune in tow, arriving at a moderately sized inn.

With a quick exchange of words and lien Que procured a room for the pair, the innkeeper a tall lanky man with short brown hair led them up the stairs and with a gesture showed them their room.

Two beds with a bathroom, typical, though not unwelcome. Traveling on the road had given Jaune a new appreciation for amenities he had taken for granted. Jaune collapsed on one of the beds with a huff.

"Tired?"

Jaune nodded, between keeping his aura on passively, the pace that Que set while traveling, and the frequent training sessions that comprised their 'breaks' he was mentally and physically exhausted.

"Take a nap, I'll be back in a bit, shouldn't be gone too long."

"Where are you going?" Jaune sat up his tiredness forgotten.

"Nowhere too important, just to get your first mission?"

"What!? Really!?"

Que smiled and ruffled Jaune's hair, "You've made a ton of progress, now it's time to put all that training to the test." With a casual wave, Que exited the room.

Jaune tapped his foot as he waited for Que to return. He didn't even know how to describe the emotions rolling through his body. He was excited but at the same time incredibly nervous. What if he screwed up? What if he wasn't strong enough to actually fight the Grimm? Any Grimm that he had encountered while traveling had been easily dispatched by Que, he had no idea how he compared to the enemies of mankind.

The door clicking open disturbed him from his thoughts to see Que walk in. Pulling out his scroll Que handed it to Jaune.

 **Mission:**

 **Extermination of Grimm population**

 **Location:**

 **To the southwest of Ryul**

 **Time Limit:**

 **Within 3 days of receiving**

 **Status:**

 **Accepted**

"Come on kid, let's get some sleep, no sense fighting Grimm in the dark if there's a choice." Que yawned walking into the bathroom. The sound of rushing water barely registered in Jaune's mind as he laid back down on his bed. The tiredness was making itself known again and after slipping beneath the covers he could no longer fight it.

It was early the next morning that Que awoke Jaune. Dressing in his black hoodie with cut sleeves, dark blue cloth pants, boots, and steel arm guards Jaune followed Que out of the room.

Daylight had just begun to settle on the earth as they walked through the village gates. Jaune had barely said more than a few words as they walked through the forest his mind strangely empty. The nervousness he had felt yesterday was strangely absent replaced by a certain sense of calm.

A black shape caught his attention causing Jaune to spin to see a large Grimm standing on its hind legs with burning red eyes set into a bone white mask. It happened in a blur of motion, the Grimm leaped at Jaune, with a shift of his feet Jaune grounded himself instinctively. Focusing his aura through his fist he triggered his semblance causing his fist to flare a bright white.

Jaune flicked his fist out colliding with the mask of the Grimm which shattered under the force of the blow sending the Grimm's body flying from the force. Jaune sidestepped dodging a blow from another beast which he slammed a kick into. More Grimm began to emerge from the forest causing Jaune to take a loose position arms hanging by his sides with his feet grounded.

Everything was still for a moment before the Grimm with a roar launched themselves forward. As the first Grimm came into range Jaune spun into motion delivering a devasting haymaker to the stomach of the Grimm before slipping around the strikes of two others. Bringing his foot around in a roundhouse kick he sent those same two Grimm flying.

His world became an onslaught of pitch-black bestial limbs trying to tear him apart. Yet for all, that each strike aimed at him seemed slow compared to Que's. Maneuvering his body into a flip he struck out breaking another Grimm mask with a punch.

A paw slammed into him but Jaune rolled with strike rolling back into a handstand twirling aura enhanced legs so fast that the aura that shone off them looked like a solid white shield. Slamming two Grimm to the side he flipped too his feet bringing his left fist forward to slam into another of the beasts.

Blocking the swipe of another Grimm with his forearm he countered with a punch of his won sending the beast rocketing backward. Surveying the clearing he saw more Grimm begin to emerge from the trees, this time he was the one who launched himself forward fist cocked.

The hissing of dissolving Grimm filled the clearing as Jaune stood in the center breathing heavily. Grimm lay strewn across the ground bodies slowly dissolving

Soft footsteps caused him to look up to see Que walking across the clearing. Que had vanished as soon as the fight had begun and now as he walked towards Jaune his lips were quirked in a soft smile. Coming to a stop in front of him he softly ruffled Jaune's hair.

"Ya did good kid."

He really was one step closer to his dream.


End file.
